It’s July 15th and we  made it through our sons wedding. Somehow we found the time to finish our Europe Plan and pack for it as well. By 12:30 we were being driven by Brother Steve,s Limo Service to JFK. As we drive up to the airport there are lightning strikes nearby, not a good sign for an on time flight.

We make it through security and arrive at our gate at 1:45 and our plane pulls in a short while later. This is a good sign for ou departure. It is an airbus 380 which holds 853 people and has 99 rows.

Our Big Ol Jet Airliner

Our Big Ol Jet Airliner

We are flying through Frankfurt with a connection there to Stockholm. Delays could make us miss the connection as it is only 1 hour and 45 minute layover. At 3:20, after everybody lines up, they announce that they won’t be boarding until 4 o’clock which is 5 minutes after our scheduled departure. We fiinaly get on board and they announce a departure time of 4:45. Due to the line of aircraft trying to escape this God forsaken airport, we actuall get airborne at 5:45, almost 2 hours late. If we make up some time, we have a slight chance of catching our connection. Charlie, the worry wort, finally falls asleep, after consuming a bloody mary, 2 red wines,, and a cognac after dinner. We touch down in Franfurt at 0623 and get off the plane at 0645 leaving us a half hour to get our 0715 flight.  We arrive in the Z gates and find out we have to go to gate B10 in another terminal. There are lots of signs to lead our weary bodies, in what turns out to be a run for the roses maze of  tunnels, escalators, terminals, passport control, elevators, and german stairmasters. A good mile or more later, we arrive at our gate at 0705 and are told our flight to Stockholm is delayed. The amount of moisture surrounding me could create it’s own weather system and prevents me from thinking about anything else. As water continues to drip off of me, we areboth just happy to have made this fight.

We board and depart an hour late. However, we manage to get a little sleep on this flight and after everything is said and done, we are only a half hour late getting to Stockholm. We have arrived in Sweden!!!